Senate Candidates Concede (Kind Of), Charge Ahead, and Say Thank You

The concession, such as it was, came from KT McFarland who was trounced by John Spencer in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. She bemoaned the state of the New York Republican party, saying Empire State elephants have “have simply gone along to get along.”

The party needs to change, she said, by recruiting more women, minorities and young people. McFarland also invoked the name of her old boss, Ronald Reagan,Â citing his stances on defense and his supply side theory that tax cuts leads to economic growth.

What was most notable though, was what McFarland didn’t say. While she heartily endorsed other statewide Republican candidates: John Faso for Governor, Jeanine Pirro for AG andÂ Chris Callaghan for Comptroller, she didn’t mention Spencer — a stance unlikely to endear her with the party faithful.

(UPDATE, from Liz): McFarland spokesman Bill O’Reilly noted McFarland said she’s supporting “the winner,” although she didn’t bring herself to intone Spencer’s name. According to O’Reilly, who wrote in at 1:28 a.m., McFarland called Spencer last night, but he did not call back.”)

Meanwhile, Spencer as expected, was taking aim at U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton,Â D-NY, repeating his mantra that she’s more interested in residing once again in the White House than serving in the Senate.

“She’s focused on her own personal needs. She wants to be president.”

As for Clinton, she issued a fairly bland prepared statement for her win over Jonathan Tasini:

“I’m honored and deeply gratified by this expression of support. Six years ago, I asked New Yorkers to take a chance on me, and they responded by giving me the opportunity to represent our great state in the United States Senate.”